Today’s blog, yes a day earlier than usual, is mainly about Hedsor Jazz, unlike the main effort from last week which was mostly about Swanage Jazz!

And there are similarities! Because every week we at Hedsor have the chance to listen to top quality live modern jazz and my first Thursday back was no exception. For upon my return after a two Thursday break was for a very refreshing evening with Mike Wills and Jezz Cook. Not only refreshing, but fresh! The music was crisp, the playing was top quality, the friends around good company, and a good time was had by me, if not all.

I had forgotten in the Swanage sunshine what quality we actually do have at Hedsor Jazz. I know I always say we have world class jazz at Hedsor, and Mike Wills had been at Swanage this year although this time I didn’t see him there. At Swanage we had Alan Barnes, who was at Hedsor last year and will be with us again on September 7^th.  

Swanage also highlighted the talents of Nigel Price, who has played Hedsor many times for us. 

So the Swanage Jazz Festival does very often come to Hedsor Jazz.

My pictures from last week are below:-

So who have we got coming to Hedsor Jazz this week, July 27^th?

After many months away I am delighted that we can welcome back vibraphone maestro Alan Grahame. There will be others coming to play with him, at the moment their names are a little blurred! But in focus, or probably actually engaged in focusing, will be a film crew! That may be because Alan is now over 95, but that is all I know!

You can read a bit more about him here :-https://www.henleystandard.co.uk/news/clubs-and-associations/101408/jazz-percussionist-discuss-life-as-a-musician.html

So why not come and hear for yourself. Hedsor Jazz’s entry fee is still only £10 and every session starts at 8.30pm.

 

Whenever I can I try and listen to BBC Radio 3’s Jazz Record Requests on a Sunday afternoon at 4pm. I try and join with the invisible fraternity that sit and listen together at that hour, rather than via BBC Sounds at any other time I could choose. This week they played another recording I purchased after listening to the players live at Swanage many years ago. Yes, I have kind of promoted jazz guitar over the last 20 years, and this year at Hedsor we have had Nigel Price, James Fenn and Jezz Cook already, but I first heard Dave Cliff at Swanage back in the 1990’s playing alongside saxophonist Geoff Simkins in the cellar bar of The Victoria Club.

 

Jazz Record Requests this week played their version of “Sipping at Bells” from the CD I bought at the time called “Sipping at Bells”!! Yes I do! but the cd is on the Spotlight label from around 1995 and it is well worth a listen if you can find it. Cleanly recorded and beautifully played.

 

More blog in a weeks time, and I hope to see you all at Hedsor Jazz. Don’t forget, no bums on seats means no live jazz. Your hobby needs you to actively participate!

 

Geoff's blog again, but this time its about Hedsor Jazz!

During my absence, Peter England has not only taken your money, but taken photos as well, so many thanks to Peter for helping out.

So here are his pictures:-

From July 6th, The Duncan Lamont Mark Aston Session

 

From July 13th. the Ed Benstead Nick Mills Session

I am assured I missed a couple of great sessions, but you can let me know this week!!

Coming to us THIS THURSDAY, July 20th, we have “our” reed man Mike Wills coupled with guitarist Jezz Cook. Both travel to us from Oxford, and both have been to us before as a coupling. Mike has obviously also been to us many times in the past as part of the Clive Burton Quintet. Jezz has come to us as a guest  alongside Mike many times in the past few years as well.

An internationally renowned guitarist Jezz often plays in the manouche gypsy jazz style. When alongside Mike together they have sometimes played tribute to Benny Goodman with  Jezz adopting the Charlie Christian guitar style.

 

One thing they definitely are, and that is versatile. So come along and see. The rhythm section supporting them will be led by Martin Hart our drummer, and may well have Ken McCarthy on keyboard and perhaps Peter Hughes on bass. (OK I have been away, with fingers on other pulses)!

 

One final comment, after much deliberation I have signed up for next years Swanage Jazz Festival (July 12^th to 14^th 2024). I have more than accommodation as a reservation! I don’t know the program, and I’m sure the prices will be higher than this year, but I would hate to see The Swanage Jazz Festival fold. Sometimes you just have to put your money, and your body, where your mouth is!

That Blog is back!

But it has been to the Swanage Jazz Festival, so basically this will be a report of that. A report on Hedsor will be later this week.

So, the Swanage Jazz Festival.

I’m going to comment about the gigs I actually heard, then a general bit about the festival overall.

Friday 7^th July

First of all, wasn’t it great to be back in a marquee on Sandpit Field! It was a little early for a sit down gig, but even at 4pm, Alan Barnes is a great listen. His Quartet of Paul Edis on piano, Adam King on bass and Joel Barford on drums was top quality. All of the constituent parts are stars in there own right, but it would have been nice to have had some old time Barnes collaborators for him to react with. It was an excellent set, finishing just about 6pm, but it would have been more exciting with another front liner. Alan will be at Hedsor on September 7^th.

 

Saturday 8^th July

Saturday started off with the New Orleans parade (no still pics!), just as it always did. However it becomes kind of irrelevant if you can only parade up and down the front, and not go round the town as in days of yore! The band were good, and it would have saved the old legs if the band had just walked up to the middle of the front and then played a set from there. I think the impact on potential audience, which this once gave the entire festival, was definitely lacking.

However, they were near enough to the Mowlem Theatre for me to quickly nip in to the start of The Craig Milverton Quintet’s 75 minutes.

 

For me, this was the best jazz of the weekend and this was unexpectedly so. The players were Craig on piano, with Ian Ellis on reeds, Andy Urquhart trumpet, Ashley John Long on bass and Alex Goodyer on drums. They were excellent, each complementing the others with skill in every area, with great improvisation and in harmonic sympathy with each other. The young drummer was unbelievable!! He had ALL the technique and knew when it was required. He didn’t get in the way and he could swing! It was a real shame to only have them together for one long set. They played innovative, swinging, modern jazz, and by another level too.

At the end of Craig’s set I then decided a drink in the Showbar would be desirable. Whilst quenching my thirst I became aware that a keyboard was being prepared, and I saw a face I thought I knew, and decided to stay and listen. The face belonged to singer pianist composer Julie Lewis, who some years ago I saw in a pub in Weymouth. I thought then, and I definitely think now, that she is an undiscovered gem. She was aided on this occasion by the saxophonist who had done so well with Craig Milverton not ½ hour before, Ian Ellis, and they deserve to be on an international stage, not just in a bar in Swanage. The 2 hours for me were an unplanned stop off, and they/she should have been allowed a place in the main program as she is a real find.

 

As a matter of interest I had met her before in the days of Ken Rankine when he sat in on bass with a band in a pub in Weymouth, and Julie was the singing pianist.

Then another late afternoon session in the Marquee with the saviour of the Swanage Festival, Nigel Price, from 5pm until 6.15.

 

He was playing with Italian guitarist Alesio Menconi , with Mikele Montolli on bass and Joel Barford on drums. A really excellent set of superb guitar playing by two masters of the craft. When I first introduced Nigel at a Cookham Festival Jazz event some years ago I said I thought he was the best guitarist in the country, and the intervening years have not proved me wrong. Alessio is also an award winning guitarist, and he and Nigel were just completing a UK tour. The set could have been improved if another solo instrument had been involved, as over an hour of guitar sound, however brilliantly played, was a little samey. 

There was a torrential downpour during this set, which would have made “strolling” very difficult but added to the percussive sounds!

Sunday 9^th July

I managed 3 concerts on Sunday, the first being in the marquee listening to a young male singer born and bred in Swanage, Dylan Ross. He did an excellent job of sounding like Frank Sinatra, backed by Paul Styles on reeds, Phil Doyle on keyboard, Joe Lamburn on bass and Jan Evans on drums. Again I got the impression from watching and listening that the band had not rehearsed before playing at the Swanage Festival.

 

Next up was Dave O’Higgins with Rob Luft on guitar in The Mowlem Theatre with Ross Stanley on keyboard Misha Mullov-Abbado on bass and Billy Pod on drums. An interesting jazz rock approach, the guitar sound of Rob being very different to Nigel Price. It was a very good presentation of the jazz fusion sound.

 

The third concert was my first and last visit this year to the Conservative Club to see Jon Lloyd and Tobie Muir give a tribute to Wayne Shorter, which they called “Speak No Evil”. Both leaders were on saxophone, with Ray Shea on keyboard, Paul Lawrence Francis on bass and James Wheeler on drums. A good try, they were obviously very passionate about the music of Wayne Shorter but they weren’t tight enough, and slightly under rehearsed. The sound system in the room didn’t help much, the piano sound during the first set being very poor, but it was much improved in the second set.

 

Overall Impressions of Swanage 2023

 

It was without doubt great to have Sandpit Field back in use again. The marquee was very nice, but was bigger than it needed to be. For around the same cost it would be better to have 2 smaller marquees as we used to have.

There were not nearly so many well known names there, and even though many of the new names were good, they would not be a draw to anyone.

The gigs were all too short, and there was not enough opportunity to socialize around the performance areas. The gaps between performances were too long, and there wasn’t enough of interest in each area to stay put for ¾ to 1 ½ hours.

The town itself is also down on eating areas. Café’s either shut at 6pm, or weren’t open at all. On Saturday and Sunday finding an evening meal was very difficult. Saturday was difficult, Sunday was just impossible. Sandpit Field could well host more fast food outlets. The beer tent was woefully undermanned, with queues out the door except during actual performances. Ensuring a better supply of food and drink actually in Sandpit Field, with some sheltered areas in case of rain, would be a great help, especially if more than one marquee were there as well. It would enable the social mix that made The Swanage Jazz Festival a “come back every year” attraction.

Musically there were some surprising finds. Julie Lewis with sax Ian Ellis were vastly superior to the jazz (?) singer and bass player Isabella Burnham (I caught the last number from her set). Julie deserves far better exposure than she had. The jazz produced by Craig Milverton’s Quintet was also outstanding.

Overall, not enough real quality, too many gaps, and not enough choice really. I promote modern jazz, but still enjoy traditional forms. When the marquees were adjacent to each other, you could stroll between them and catch different genres of music without tramping miles. You could also converse with friends outside the marquees, but still be aware of the music. Sometimes this half listening led you towards sounds you might not have chosen.

Outstanding for the weekend?  Alan Barnes and Nigel Price. But apart from there set sessions, they had little opportunity of playing with others of similar stature that we used to see. To see top players sparking off from each other was one of the delights of Swanage Jazz past. I have never forgotten Scott Hamilton and Tina May in the upstairs Victoria Club, AT THE SAME TIME.

The consensus over Mondays breakfast was it was better to have Swanage back again than not, even though it hadn’t the overall quality of previous years. We wouldn’t like to see it fold, but some idea of next years content would be good. Asking us to buy next year’s tickets blind is a pig in a poke and there doesn’t seem to be a weekend stroller on offer for next year either. And an increase in the cost, AND touting for donations! That, together with the hefty charges for accommodation and food are making it a very expensive weekend!

Just to underline one of the stresses, I missed some good music because I couldn’t get a proper evening meal and my little legs are now 85 years old. The gaps between gigs, both in distance and in time didn’t help!

 The main featured guests for August has just been finalised. 

Do let people know what splendid music comes to Hedsor Jazz.

A short blog today, as tomorrow I have yet another funeral to go to. Then on Friday I will be at The Swanage Jazz Festival, so a fair bit of coming and going.

Last week Hedsor had another of those deputising days! Ken McCarthy, our regular keyboard maestro, is having a holiday break (as I did and will again!!), and Al Nicholls, our advertised guest, was unable to come due to a family illness. At very short notice he was replaced by Alam Nathoo, a remarkable saxophonist who has had to undergo a career change away from music, again because of family commitments. However, he obviously keeps in practice! Which is just as well, because he had never met guitarist James Fenn before, and, because of that short notice hadn’t been able to consult on the evening’s musical content before the night. But together they did splendidly well. The keyboard roll was taken by Martin Pickett, the bass by Ester Ng and Martin Hart was back on drums.

It was therefore a totally unrehearsed evening, which just shows everyone what great musicians we get at Hedsor Jazz. The resultant jazz was of a very high quality. I had to remark to Martin Pickett at half time that I was amazed that they had played Duke Ellington’s “Isfahan” as the second tune in. It comes from Duke’s “Far East” Suite, and isn’t the easiest piece to play, and therefore isn’t played that often!

My photos of the evening are below.

 

Coming this Thursday, July 6^th, we have Duncan Lamont Jr on Tenor Sax and Flute and another replacement as yet unknown to me, as trombonist Mike Innes has some dental problems at the moment. Those of us who have been going to Hedsor Jazz long enough will remember the problems that that sort of thing used to give Clive Burton!

Ken McCarthy will still be on holiday, and at the time of putting this together I can only assume that Martin Pickett will be on keyboard for us again.

That’s it for now folks. IF I get the info for August I will be relight the blogpaper and let you have a poster to look at telling you who we have got coming!

If not, that’s it from me for a couple of weeks, as I go to support live jazz on the South Coast! https://swanagejazzfestival.co.uk/main-programme-2023/

Do look back to see who else we have coming in July, there is information in poster form. And yes, we are amazing, and mad. We run live jazz every week!